Investing in Public Education

State support for UCLA has fallen to 7 percent of total expenditures. That is less public funding than private institutions receive in other states. The UCLA International Institute needs your help to prepare our students for a global world in this challenging financial environment.

We live in an increasingly global world. Accordingly, we must redouble our efforts to teach undergraduate and graduate students foreign languages and cultures and enable them to study abroad. The interdisciplinary research centers and degree programs of the UCLA International Institute promote such training as their core mission — for students and faculty alike.

Expertise in all areas of the world is an ongoing national imperative. Yet since the end of the Cold War, and again during the recent recession, federal and private foundation funding for area and global studies have been significantly reduced. The United States may well find itself without the benefit of a younger generation of experts able to confront a myriad of 21st century challenges.

Donors to the UCLA International Institute help advance the university mission of teaching, research and public service. Contributions made by alumni, friends, private foundations and corporations support students, faculty and programs.

Short-term versus Long-term Investment

Current expenditure gifts

Current expenditure gifts help the UCLA International Institute sustain its operations and grow in the short run. Unrestricted cash gifts give us the flexibility to meet urgent needs. Cash gifts can also be directed to a specific center/program. To direct your gift now, click here.

Endowment gifts

An endowment supports the UCLA International Institute’s educational mission by providing a reliable source of funds for current AND future use. Endowments are long-term investment vehicles for gifts of $100,000+. The money in endowed funds is invested by the UCLA Investment Company as part of UCLA’s total endowment (approximately $3.20 billion as of June 2014) in order to enhance its value and earn interest. The respective proportional amount of these earnings is paid to the UCLA International Institute and/or a designated center/program.

Since an endowment is set up to exist in perpetuity, most donors elect to name endowments, either to honor a family member, a life-changing professor or other mentor, preserve the name of their family foundation or create a personal legacy.

Current expenditure gifts in any amount may be made to the UCLA International Institute itself or to any of its centers and units. However, minimum investments are required to create specific types of endowment funds, as shown in the table below.

Key: Program
Support Student
Support Faculty
Support

Endowment opportunity

Minimum investment amount (US$)

Description

Named Endowment

of a Center

$5
million

Currently,
three of the International Institute’s centers have been funded and named. In
the context of declining government funding, these are the centers that can
thrive and expand their activities. If you are interested in naming a center
that covers a specific world region or country, please contact the
development office.

Named Lecture / Conference Fund

$250,000

Individual
funds will support regular lectures or conferences on specific topics, or
will help create a lecture to address new issues that come to the forefront
of the global economy and international politics.

Student Support - Postdoctoral
Fellowship for students pursuing international studies
(general fund) or studies of a specific country/region or issue

$1
million

Postdoctoral
fellowship endowments help fund postgraduate scholars research and living
expenses, enabling UCLA to attract promising academics and indirectly impact
the University's ability to recruit and retain top faculty and graduate
students.

Student Support - Graduate Fellowship for students pursuing international studies
(general fund) or studies of a specific country/region or issue

$100,000

Graduate fellowship
endowments help to fund graduate students' tuition and fees, enable UCLA to
attract promising scholars, and indirectly bear on the University's ability
to recruit and retain top faculty.

Student Support - Undergraduate Scholarship for students
pursuing international studies (general fund) or studies of a specific
country/region or issue

$100,000

Endowment income for
undergraduate student support ensures a superior education for talented,
deserving students. Scholarships may be awarded on the basis of financial
need, academic merit or both.

Student Support – Study Abroad (general fund) or
for study in a specific country/region

$100,000

Endowment income for
Study Abroad Support ensures that undergraduate and graduate students can
complement their studies at UCLA with a semester of study abroad. Undergraduate
Scholarships and Graduate Fellowships may be awarded on the basis of
financial need, academic merit or both.

Student Support – Community Service or Internship Abroad (general fund) or
for community service or summer internship in a specific country/region

$100,000

Endowment income for
Community Service / Summer Internship Abroad Support ensures that undergraduate
and graduate students can complement their studies at UCLA through a summer
of community work or an internship abroad. Stipends may be awarded on the
basis of financial need, academic merit or both.

Faculty Support – Endowed Center Chair (with
salary support)

$5
million

An Endowed Chair with
salary support underwrites a new faculty member (i.a.,
a full-time employee, or FTE) on a permanent basis. A Chair is a special
incentive to recruit and/or retain gifted faculty members whose teaching and
research exemplify UCLA’s mission. Endowment income provides salary support
and resources for research and teaching.

Faculty Support – Endowed Center Chair
(without salary support)

$2
million

An
Endowed Chair without salary support is a special incentive used to attract a
scholar of distinction to UCLA or to retain gifted faculty members whose
teaching and research exemplify UCLA's mission. Endowment income provides
support for research and teaching.